The University of Kansas Bell Memorial Hospital, circa 1980.

April 16, 1980: The Mid-American Radiation Therapy Center is dedicated.

May 1980: Bronze figure of the "Jayhawker, MD," by Gene "Yogi" Williams, M.D., is unveiled at the Medical Alumni Association Banquet. Dr. Williams, who died in a hot-air ballooning accident July 4, 1979, received a special Alumnus of the Year Award, which was presented to his family.

June 16, 1980: The Todd L. Sutherland Microsurgical Pediatric Deformity Center, headed by Dr. John Hiebert, is dedicated.

August 1, 1980: Gene Budig, Ph.D., is named chancellor of the University of Kansas, with intentions of making the needs of KU Medical Center a priority.

September 1980: Kenneth Ransom, M.D., (M'74), forms KUMC's first Trauma Service, composed of physicians who specialize in resuscitating, operating on, and caring for patients throughout their hospitalization.

1980: Marvin I. Dunn, M.D., is appointed dean of the KU School of Medicine.

1980: William J. Reals, M.D., is appointed dean of the KU School of Medicine-Wichita.

1980: Stata Norton, Ph.D., is appointed dean of the School of Allied Health. She serves in that position until 1985.

1980: KU Medical Center becomes the first institution in the United States to use the new spinal instrumentation system, the AO (Association for Osteosynthesis) Locking Hook Spinal Rod, developed by Rae Jacobs, M.D., KU orthopedic surgeon and head of the Problem Spine Clinic.

1980: Sam Dwyer, Ph.D., develops the world's first operational Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS).

1980: R. Don Blim, M.D., (M'53), clinical instructor in pediatrics, serves as the 50th president of the American Academy of Pediatrics. In this capacity, Dr. Blim successfully calls for President Ronald Reagan to create a Maternal and Children's Health Administration as part of the Department of Health and Human Services.

January 16, 1981: Karl Menninger, M.D., university professor of psychiatry at large from 1966 to 1988, receives the Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian award. Dr. Menninger also served on the KU School of Medicine faculty as lecturer in neuropsychiatry from 1928 to 31, and as professor of clinical psychiatry from 1946 to 62. He, his brother, William, and his father, Charles, founded the Menninger Clinic in Topeka in 1925.

April 1981: Herbert Miller, M.D., chair and professor of pediatrics from 1945 to 1972, and director of the Children's Rehabilitation Unit from 1963 to 1967, is honored with the prestigious Abraham Jacobi Award by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

May 17, 1981: Max S. Allen, M.D., professor of medicine, receives the Distinguished Service Citation, the highest honor bestowed by the University of Kansas and the KU Alumni Association. On October 15, 1981, Dr. Allen became the first recipient of the Mahlon H. Delp, M.D., Medal for Excellence in Medicine. Dr. Allen was honored for his devotion and long service to medicine and patient care and his high ethical standards.

1981: Grace E.F. Holmes, M.D., begins the distribution of her Kansas Infant Development Screen (KIDS) chart. Eventually translated into Chinese, Korean, German, and Spanish, this simple developmental screening instrument is used throughout the world to this day.

June 21, 1982: John E. Reardon, mayor of Kansas City, Kansas, proclaims this day as Mary Anne Eisenbise Appreciation Day to recognize her contributions to the community. Eisenbise, RN, (N'53), was KU Medical Center director of Nursing Services and associate professor of medical surgical nursing.

September 13, 1982: Margaret Shandor Miles, RN, Ph.D., is named a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing for making significant contributions to the nursing profession. Dr. Miles' specialty was in raising the awareness among nurses and other health care professionals about the special needs of dying patients, especially children, and grieving families.

1982: David W. Robinson, M.D., becomes the first KU Medical Center surgeon to receive the Distinguished Service Award of the American College of Surgeons. Dr. Robinson, a professor of surgery who chaired the plastics section for 22 years, receives the award for his research, teaching, and service.

1982: The International Center for the Control of Nutritional Anemia is established at KU Medical Center.

1982: Under the direction of Phillip A. Munoz, M.D., KUMC is one of 20 university-affiliated research centers in the United States mass-producing monoclonal antibodies, which, for the first time, were being made available to other area researchers.

1983: H. Daniel Lewis, Jr., M.D., professor of medicine in the Division of Cardiovascular Surgery at the Kansas City Veterans Administration Hospital, serves as lead investigator in the VA Cooperative Study on Aspirin Therapy in Unstable Angina, which continues to be widely cited in medical literature and is considered one of the top 25 research publications in 20^th century cardiovascular literature:

Lewis HD Jr, Davis JW, Archibald DG, Steinke WE, Smitherman TC, Doherty JE 3rd, Schnaper HW, LeWinter MM, Linares E, Pouget JM, Sabharwal SC, Chesler E, DeMots H. Protective effects of aspirin against acute myocardial infarction and death in men with unstable angina. Results of a Veterans Administration Cooperative Study. N Engl J Med. 1983 Aug 18;309(7):396-403. doi: 10.1056/NEJM198308183090703. PMID: 6135989.

1983: Under Doris Gietgey, RN, Ed.D., the School of Nursing's Ph.D. program begins admitting students. This was the first nursing doctorate program in the Midwest.

1983: The Archie R. Dykes Library opens.

1983: D. Kay Clawson, M.D., is appointed executive vice chancellor.

July 26, 1984: The first heart transplant in the state of Kansas and the Kansas City area is performed at KU Medical Center. Thomas J. Bixler, M.D., chair of the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, leads the transplant team. Other members of the team include Richard MacArthur, M.D., assistant professor of cardiothoracic surgery, Michael D. Boggan, M.D., clinical assistant professor of cardiothoracic surgery, Steven Tosone, M.D., assistant professor of anesthesiology, and Barbara Gill, RN, MN, cardiothoracic clinical nurse specialist and coordinator of the transplant program. 

November 29, 1984: KU Medical Center's first 10-member Ethics Committee is approved and is chaired by Robert P. Hudson, M.D.

1984: The nurse anesthesia program attains graduate status, and begins offering a master of science degree.

1984: Joseph C. Meek, M.D., is appointed acting dean of the KU School of Medicine.

1984: Marc A. Asher, M.D., (M'62), professor of orthopedic surgery, becomes the editorial board chairman of the first edition of "Orthopedic Knowledge Update: Home Study Syllabus," now the largest publication program of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. In recognition of his outstanding achievements as an educator, scholar, and clinician, Dr. Asher received the rank of University Distinguished Professor at KUMC in July 2003.

1984: Robert P. Hudson, M.D., (M'52), chair of the Department of History and Philosophy of Medicine, becomes the first person to serve as president of the two main history of medicine organizations - the American Osler Society and the American Association for the History of Medicine.

1985: Eugene D. Jacobson, M.D., is appointed dean of the KU School of Medicine.

1985: James P. Cooney, Ph.D., becomes the dean of the School of Allied Health and serves in this capacity until 1991.

1985: Jacob K. Frenkel, M.D., Ph.D., discovers the role cats have in spreading the infection of toxoplasmosis in humans.

1986: A master's program in physical therapy is approved.

March 15, 1988: Nancy Hulston, the first KU Medical Center archivist, is hired.

1988: Eleanor Sullivan, RN, Ph.D., FAAN, is appointed dean of the School of Nursing.

1988: Jane E. Henney, M.D., is appointed acting dean of the KU School of Medicine.

1988: William J. Reals, M.D., is appointed vice chancellor of the KU School of Medicine-Wichita.

1989: Martin L. Pernoll, M.D., is appointed dean of the KU School of Medicine.

1989: The $5.5 million Animal Care Research Support Facility and the $4.15 million Olathe Parking Structure open.

1989: Marc Asher, M.D., (M'62), KU Medical Center orthopedic surgeon, is one of four principals to develop the first spinal system to integrate hook, wire, and screw bone anchors. Known as the Isola Spine Implant System, it is still widely used today. Isola, the species name of a butterfly seen in parts of North America, is chosen because of the butterfly shape of an early implant component prototype:

Asher MA, Strippgen WE, Heinig CF, et al. Isola spinal implant system: principles, design, and applications. In: An HS, Cotler JM, eds. Spinal Instrumentation. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins, 1992:325–31.

1989: The Paul R. Harrington Archives in the History and Philosophy of Medicine Department opens. Dr. Harrington, (M'38), was the inventor of the first spinal instrumentation for the correction of post-polio and idiopathic scoliosis.

1989: Under the direction of Eleanor Sullivan, RN, Ph.D., FAAN, the School of Nursing Advisory Board is established to enhance community outreach and support the school's academic goals.